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A Comparative Analysis Of My Two Anti-War Texts

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Intro:
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a "soldier" as “one engaged in military service, especially in the army.” History books tell us countries have used soldiers since 3000 BCE. This essay will explore the portrayal of soldiers and war. My two anti-war texts are the movie 1917, directed by Sam Mendes, and War Pigs by Black Sabbath. These two texts convey how horrific war truly is. My two pro-war texts are Who’s for the Game by Jesse Pope and Iraq and Roll by Clint Black. These texts romanticize the idea that war is a great and noble endeavor. I hope that by the end of this essay, the reader will be able to assess which side of the argument is the stronger one, pro-war or anti-war.

Text 1: Anti-War
Even today, the media's portrayal …show more content…

It was a requirement, a duty that had to be fulfilled in order to defend one's nation. This myth was greatly aided by Jessie Pope's Who's for the Game. In the poem, a metaphorical game is talked about. Pope illustrates how soldiers believed that fighting was a game they should be playing by comparing war to a game. It represented a change from their mundane lives back home. Soldiers were persuaded to enlist in the military despite not fully understanding the realities that awaited them by painting war in this overly positive, playful light. It says, “Who would much rather come back with a crutch than lie low and be out of the fun?" Pope also uses the personification of England as being “up to her neck in fight." Pope's message conveyed that England is currently in a precarious position in its ongoing fight against its enemies, which makes it vulnerable and weak. The Pope used this vulnerability to encourage soldiers to feel a sense of duty and pride in their country, portraying war as a noble and honorable battle that must be fought for the greater good of their nation. Essentially, the Pope urged soldiers to enlist and serve their country, arguing that doing so would be the right thing to do and that refraining from doing so would be a disfavor to their country. This text supports my belief that blind patriotism played a significant role in convincing soldiers to join the army. Soldiers …show more content…

In the song, it says, “Now you can come along, or you can stay behind, or you can get out of the way, But our troops take out the garbage, For the good old U.S.A.” This supports the fact that American soldiers think of Iraqi soldiers as trash. The reason that America attacked Iraq is because America claimed that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction and was planning on using them to attack the US. The song turned into an anthem for some American soldiers as they engaged in combat during the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan in 2003 and late 2001, respectively. The aim of this song was to disorient and confuse the enemy in order to gain a tactical advantage. As most of the Iraqi soldiers couldn't understand English, it left them confused and maybe

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